A century ago, the idea of intelligent machines was the stuff of science fiction. Now, artificial intelligence (AI) has become an integrated part of daily life. Businesses use it for functions ranging from analytics to logistics, and experts project the global AI market will surpass $826 billion by 2030.
For small businesses, some of the most useful AI-powered technologies relate to content creation—using AI to produce videos, images, and written material.
Follow along for the benefits and challenges of AI content creation, as well as some of the most popular AI content tools designed to improve your business and marketing efforts.
What is AI content creation?
AI content creation is the process of using AI tools to create, alter, or edit content like blog posts and graphics. These AI content tools use methods like natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML), and image recognition to generate and enhance words, images, and videos.
You can use AI tools to create content for marketing materials like product descriptions or ad copy, as well as to improve existing content. For example, you might use AI-powered video editing tools that scan unedited footage to generate engaging snippets for your social media channels.
Common examples of AI content creation tools include chatbots like ChatGPT, which generates text based on prompts from users, and Adobe Firefly, an AI tool in Adobe software like Photoshop that creates AI-generated visual content from prompts.
Benefits of using AI content creation tools
AI content creation tools can increase the efficiency of your content strategy in a variety of ways, including:
Increased productivity
AI tools can improve your content creation process by reducing the time it takes to generate materials like social media posts, marketing emails, and copy for landing pages. By writing the first drafts of product descriptions, blog posts, and newsletters, you can create more written content in less time. By using AI to generate images for ads instead of licensing photos or organizing an expensive photoshoot, you may save time and money.
Accelerated idea generation
Sometimes, brainstorming ideas for a particular problem or opportunity can feel daunting. Luckily, AI tools are good for generating ideas. By using AI to generate content ideas you can adapt or use as a starting point, you can keep your marketing team focused on big-picture strategies for growth.
Better data insights
AI tools can compile and analyze data faster than manual methods of data entry or data analysis. By scanning large amounts of online information when generating material, AI content creation tools can identify keywords that improve your rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs). Using advanced algorithms and machine learning technologies, AI tools can give you more information about what copy for your websites, blogs, or social media posts will rank better.
Challenges of AI content creation
Although AI tools can facilitate a faster content creation process, they also come with challenges merchants and marketers need to overcome, including:
Creative limitations
Since AI-generated content pulls from existing web content and data, it lacks the originality of the content human writers or designers produce. AI content tools provide a good starting point for content and offer a variety of options for marketers and merchants to consider, but are often unable to replace human creativity—especially for longer-form content that requires innovation or artistry.
For example, AI tools can create good options for social media posts or subject lines for email campaigns, but struggle with creative tasks that ask for detail like narrative video scripts or long-form blog posts. To address these limitations, take extra care to only use AI content tools for specific aspects of your creative content, like initial idea generation or first drafts.
Lack of specificity
AI content creation tools are useful for creating a large quantity of content, but high-quality content often requires a human touch. If you’ve developed a unique brand voice for your company, some AI content tools may not be able to capture the style and tone that you require for your material.
To counteract this, choose an AI content creation tool that scans and replicates the style of your content or offers customizable options for tone. For example, Shopify’s AI tool, Shopify Magic, allows users to adjust the style of content based on tonal prompts, and the AI tool Jasper scans your existing content to learn your brand voice.
AI tools also struggle to generate long-form content with a high level of specificity. If you need to write an ebook or research paper, you can use AI tools to brainstorm ideas and write outlines, but you’ll likely need to write and edit major portions of it to align with your specific brand identity and ensure the content quality remains high.
Reliability issues
AI content generators can sometimes generate incorrect information that sounds plausible but is made up (this is known as an AI hallucination). It’s best not to rely solely on AI tools for information; fact-check and perform quality controls to ensure the content is accurate.
Top AI content creation tools
There are many AI content creation tools you can explore for your marketing efforts. Here are some popular options:
Shopify Magic
Shopify Magic is an AI tool designed specifically to increase the productivity of ecommerce merchants. Some of Shopify Magic’s features include AI-generated product descriptions, email subject lines, and headings for your online store based on a few keyword prompts. You can even use Shopify Magic to craft a full blog post. If the content doesn’t match your company’s voice, modify your prompt and choose between a variety of tone options, including “expert,” “playful,” “witty,” or a custom tone determined by other keywords you can input.
Pricing: Shopify Magic is included in the platform and available to all Shopify merchants, with basic Shopify plans starting at $29 per month. If you’ve ever wanted to launch your own ecommerce store, sign up for a free trial to begin your journey.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a social media management platform that offers a tweet generator, a caption generator, and a content ideas generator. One of Hootsuite’s most popular tools is OwlyWriter AI, which generates social media posts, hashtags, and captions for your business. The tool uses data-driven insights about what has worked in the past, reworks previous top-performing posts into fresh ones, and creates content based on varied prompts, including keywords, topics, links to products, or even entire blog posts.
Pricing: Hootsuite offers pricing plans starting at $99 per month for one user.
Jasper AI
Jasper AI is one of the most popular AI writing tools for generating written content like marketing copy, product descriptions, or even entire blog posts. Jasper AI creates content based on prompts users provide and allows easy editing and adjustment.
For example, you could use Jasper AI to generate blog posts about the benefits of a new product line your company is launching. Jasper AI even includes a feature that scans your online store or website to learn the tone and style of your brand voice.
Pricing: Jasper AI’s basic creator pricing plan starts at $49 per month for one user.
Synthesia
You can use Synthesia to turn texts into spoken videos. You input the written content, and an AI-generated avatar says it out loud. Choose from over 160 realistic customizable avatars that can speak in more than 130 languages, or create an avatar version of yourself.
This AI content creation tool is particularly useful for producing training videos, product descriptions, and testimonials.
Pricing: Synthesia offers a free basic plan, but the starter pricing plan begins at $22 per month.
Descript
Descript is an AI tool for audio and video editing. The app scans video content and generates an editable transcript. If you edit the transcript, the app automatically makes those changes to the video. This is a particularly powerful tool for merchants creating content like interviews, podcasts, or product demonstrations. The tool also has features like automatic filler word removal and customizable audiogram snippets for posting on social media platforms.
Pricing: Pricing plans range from $12 per month to $40 per month based on the amount of transcription hours you need.
AI content creation FAQ
Is there an AI for content creation?
Yes, there are several AI content creation tools, including Shopify Magic and Jasper AI for written content, and Synthesia and Descript for video creation.
Can you create content with AI for free?
Yes, there are plenty of free AI content-creation tools. Shopify Magic includes several AI tools that are free for any Shopify merchant, and Hootsuite offers a few free AI tools, including the content ideas generator.
Is it legal to use AI content?
Yes, it is legal to use AI tools to generate content.
